Methadone: A Flicker Of Light In The Dark
Methadone: A Flicker Of Light In The Dark
Methadone: A Flicker Of Light In The Dark
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Methadone: A Flicker Of Light In The Dark

To provide a better understanding of the very important role methadone plays in the treatment of addiction.
 
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 Don't know what to do anymore, please help

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eascusa




Female
Number of posts : 5
Location : Merced
Registration date : 2009-08-02

Don't know what to do anymore, please help Empty
PostSubject: Don't know what to do anymore, please help   Don't know what to do anymore, please help EmptyMon Nov 30, 2009 11:31 pm

Hello everyone,
I am in desperate need of some help and/or advise. I go to a methadone clinic where I have been doing great. I have been clean because of it now for over a year. The problem is I am a cash patient meaning I have to pay $250.00 dollars every month and I have no income right now. I can't get medi-cail from the state because I don't have a child living with me and although I have alot of disabilities and problems I do not have SSI and it would take me a long while to try and get it. In the mean time I have no way to pay this clinic. I use to get methadone from a pain management clinic but that was over a year ago now and I know Dr's won't prescribe methadone in place of a substance abuse problem or to avoid withdrawl. I have been thinking about this for over a year now and am a burden on my family because of it and they are all out of money and support and I just don't have any ideas left. Does anyone know what I can do? Is there any other way to get state med-i-cal?? I am trying to get a job too but I have gotten zero calls. PLease help!
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lilgirllost
Admin
lilgirllost


Female
Number of posts : 863
Age : 51
Location : live in Louisiana but attend MMT clinic in Tx
Job/hobbies : COUPONING & GEOCACHING are my favorite past times but I also love reading and spending time with my husband and kids
Humor : I don't have a sense of humor.............
Registration date : 2009-05-25

Don't know what to do anymore, please help Empty
PostSubject: Re: Don't know what to do anymore, please help   Don't know what to do anymore, please help EmptyTue Dec 01, 2009 12:40 am

Hello there. I am so sorry to hear you are having problems paying for your clinic fees. I know from my own struggles that sometimes it means your clinic fees or paying your car note and in my opinion, that is a no brainer, the methadone comes first.

I do have to say though, your fees are cheaper than most. I pay $320 a month for mine and there are others here who pay even more.

The solution I found may not work for everyone, but like I said before, my MMT is a priority in our budget and this is the best and easiest way I have found to pay for it. When we get our tax refund in each year, instead of blowing it or doing something "fun" with it, or paying other bills, we pay my clinic fees up anywhere from 6 mths to a year. The clinic I go to will give you one month free if you pay 6mths in advance and 2 mths free if you pay a year so this to me is worth it. That saves us $3320 a month, plus the 2 free months. Then I do not have to worry about it for the rest of the year (or the 6 mths, however long I have paid it up for).

Please don't take this the wrong way but you said yourself that you have been worried about this for over a year, so you have known for a while that this time was coming. I would advise speaking to your clinic right away (actually I would have done it before now) to let them know what is happening with your finances and that you are fixing to have some trouble paying your fees. They can kick you out of the program if you owe them money and this is well within the federal guidelines so there is nothing you could do about it. And then you are really going to be in bad shape. In a ideal clinic, they would be willing to work with you if you are upfront with them and show them you are trying to make an effort to pay them, but most of the clinics are NOT ideal and will kick you out for owing $20.

What about checking to see if you have a clinic near you that takes payment on a sliding scale according to your income? You may have to drive a little ways to it, but even if you spend $40 for a tank of gas, that is still $210 less you have to come up with.

You may check with your medicaid office to see if they have a spend down type program. In Texas what this does is an adult who has no children in the home but does have excessive medical expenses can qualify for a medicaid program that will kind of act like insurance and pay a portion of you bill. It won't pay for all of it, but at this point in time any help you can get would be worth it. BUT your clinic would have to take medicaid (and the ones I have attended don't) because if the clinic won't file the medicaid for you, then you are out of luck because medicaid won't reimburse you for the bills you paid, it has to be the doctor/clinic that files the claim.

If you think you may be eligible for disability, I would start the filing on that process right away. yes, it may take a while, but if there is the slightest possibility you are eligible, I would get that process going right away.

Other than that, there are no programs that I know of that will help with financial assistance for MMT. If there was, I would have found them and utilitzed them myself a loooong time ago.


Good luck.
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eascusa




Female
Number of posts : 5
Location : Merced
Registration date : 2009-08-02

Don't know what to do anymore, please help Empty
PostSubject: Re: Don't know what to do anymore, please help   Don't know what to do anymore, please help EmptyTue Dec 01, 2009 2:48 am

Hi, thanks for the input. No, it's been a year that I have not had any income and have been borrowing money or using my finacial aid for it. I have this problem every monthy for over a year now not what you think about having enough time to think about it this time from happening. If I had a tax refund I would use it but I don't and my clinic doesn't give any free months if you pay in advance. It's $250 if I have the money at the beginning of the month which I never do. Then they strat adding on additional fees that end up around $300.00. What I need is state insurance like all the people have where I am going. I have Blue Cross but they don't take it and the insurance group won't even refund me some of the money because the clinic doesn't have the right tax I.D. It's rediculous.
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lilgirllost
Admin
lilgirllost


Female
Number of posts : 863
Age : 51
Location : live in Louisiana but attend MMT clinic in Tx
Job/hobbies : COUPONING & GEOCACHING are my favorite past times but I also love reading and spending time with my husband and kids
Humor : I don't have a sense of humor.............
Registration date : 2009-05-25

Don't know what to do anymore, please help Empty
PostSubject: Re: Don't know what to do anymore, please help   Don't know what to do anymore, please help EmptyTue Dec 01, 2009 5:57 am

That IS crazy that you have BC/BS and still can't get any help for your clinic fees!
does the clinic take medicaid/medi cal? If so, that is crazy too that they will take one insurance, (the state funded insurance no less!) but not other types of insurance.

what about any of the other ideas? checking for other types of medicaid/medi cal like the spend down program I was telling you about? Or finding out if there is a clinic within reasonable driving distance that used a sliding scale based on your income?

No matter what, I definately advise talking to your clinic ahead of time and letting them know what is going on. They may be more willing to work with you if you come to them ahead of time and let them know that you are having problems or will be having problems in the future with your fees.

I wish I had more answers to offer you! All I can offer you is encouragement when you need it and a place to vent your frustrations. Hang in there and keep us posted on what is going on.
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eascusa




Female
Number of posts : 5
Location : Merced
Registration date : 2009-08-02

Don't know what to do anymore, please help Empty
PostSubject: Re: Don't know what to do anymore, please help   Don't know what to do anymore, please help EmptyTue Dec 01, 2009 3:56 pm

I have already taked with the clinic about my situation. They have known this for a long time that I have no money and need help. I have NO INCOME at all so a sliding scale doesn't help me or any other thing where I have to hand over cash to them. I just don't have it. That is why I need med-ical insurance from the state. They except only that no other insurance. Yes, it pisses me off too.
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lilgirllost
Admin
lilgirllost


Female
Number of posts : 863
Age : 51
Location : live in Louisiana but attend MMT clinic in Tx
Job/hobbies : COUPONING & GEOCACHING are my favorite past times but I also love reading and spending time with my husband and kids
Humor : I don't have a sense of humor.............
Registration date : 2009-05-25

Don't know what to do anymore, please help Empty
PostSubject: Re: Don't know what to do anymore, please help   Don't know what to do anymore, please help EmptyTue Dec 01, 2009 6:56 pm

but if you could find one that works on a sliding scale (which means they charge your fees based on your income) since you have no income, then they don't charge anything. I don't know what "type" of clinic this would be called, a "free clinic" or a "govt subsidized clinic" but it would benefit you to see if you had one near you.

If you have been in MMT about a year then you should be eligible for at least once a week or every two week take outs, right? Even if you had to drive 2 hrs to the "free clinic" then it would still be worth it money wise to make the 2 hrs drive. Even if you spend $40 in gas, you are still saving $210 by going to a free clinic.

What state and town do you live in? I can do some research if you want and see if there is a free clinic near you or within driving distance.
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D
Admin
D


Female
Number of posts : 484
Age : 65
Location : Vermont
Registration date : 2009-03-05

Don't know what to do anymore, please help Empty
PostSubject: Re: Don't know what to do anymore, please help   Don't know what to do anymore, please help EmptyWed Dec 02, 2009 7:54 pm

Hello, This is Dee and I am the other moderator of the forum.
I am sorry to hear that you are having such a problem I also read what RuthAnn said to you about finding a clinic that may have a sliding fee scale. It may mean changing clinics but if you can get into a clinic that will go by your income then, it is well worth it.
I did a search and found a few clinics in your area that do have a sliding fee scale for services. I don't have any way of know if they have an opening or not but if you can call them and check into it that would be great.
Under normal conditions we do not post links on this forum. But in this case I don't think it will be a problem. Please check this out.
Clinics on a scale or click here just in case that link doesn't work:
http://www.treatment-centers.net/treatment-directory/california/merced.html
I wish you luck and will keep you in my prayers,
Yours in Recovery,
Dee
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http://www.medicalassistedtreatment.org
eascusa




Female
Number of posts : 5
Location : Merced
Registration date : 2009-08-02

Don't know what to do anymore, please help Empty
PostSubject: Re: Don't know what to do anymore, please help   Don't know what to do anymore, please help EmptyThu Dec 03, 2009 3:44 pm

Thankyou so much but I am in Clovis, CA right now. I am staying with my Mom now for a while. I'm not sure how you found that place but can you see if there are those places for me in Clovis? Or Fresno? Thankyou
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eascusa




Female
Number of posts : 5
Location : Merced
Registration date : 2009-08-02

Don't know what to do anymore, please help Empty
PostSubject: Re: Don't know what to do anymore, please help   Don't know what to do anymore, please help EmptyThu Dec 03, 2009 3:48 pm

I looked on that page of places that are suppose to have a sliding scale or what ever and Aegis was on there and that is wher I go. They claim they have this when they don't. They also say they will work with you and they don't.
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D
Admin
D


Female
Number of posts : 484
Age : 65
Location : Vermont
Registration date : 2009-03-05

Don't know what to do anymore, please help Empty
PostSubject: Re: Don't know what to do anymore, please help   Don't know what to do anymore, please help EmptyFri Dec 04, 2009 11:06 am

Good Morning,
Who have you talked to at the clinic about your financial situation?
Aegis has another clinic in Fresno that you could check out.
I went to the Aegis website and have copied their policy below. It says that patients are required to have a financial evaluation in order to qualify for discounted rates. Have you talked to them about that?
The clinic in Fresno has a different director than the one in Merced. Maybe you could check into it.

FEE STRUCTURE & METHOD OF PAYMENT
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Aegis accepts Medi-Cal, Medicare, some HMO and PPO benefit plans, as well as other government programs (e.g. SACPA/Prop 36, VA, etc.). Uninsured self-pay patients are able to make payments through credit cards, money orders, and/or cash. While payment schedules may be customized to the patient’s individual needs, all fees are expected to be paid before the end of the month of service. To make its services affordable to patients in financial need, Aegis has implemented a sliding scale rate system based on the patient’s income and number of dependents. This fee structure is incorporated in the Uniform Method to Determine Ability to Pay (“UMDAP”) policy. The qualification for discounted rates requires a financial evaluation of the patient.


Also have you ever heard of the "Access to Recovery Voucher?" Some places accept this voucher for services for their clients. I don't really know how it works but I have sent an email out to find out what I can. I will keep in touch.

There has to be something that can figured out in the way of an income or help. When it is your recovery that is at stake it is time to pull out all stops and dig in. California is a big State. I would imagine there are many people that have been in your situation, every problem has a solution if we look hard enough.
Dee
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http://www.medicalassistedtreatment.org
D
Admin
D


Female
Number of posts : 484
Age : 65
Location : Vermont
Registration date : 2009-03-05

Don't know what to do anymore, please help Empty
PostSubject: Re: Don't know what to do anymore, please help   Don't know what to do anymore, please help EmptyFri Dec 11, 2009 8:48 pm

eascusa,
How are you doing? Have you had any luck in finding help with your program? I need you to contact me, dee.vicepresident@medicalassistedtreatment.org
I told you that I would do what I could to help. I did send out a few emails and may be able to put you in touch with someone in your area that can help. But I need to hear from you.
Yours in Recovery,
Dee
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http://www.medicalassistedtreatment.org
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